Liverpool star Rio Ngumoha was named on the bench for his side's clash against Brighton in the Premier League, despite his impressive performance against Villarreal in midweek
Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has promised to use Rio Ngumoha "in the best way possible" after dropping the winger to the bench against Brighton at Anfield.
The decision to name the forward among the substitutes was an interesting one, considering the impressive display that he managed to put in against Villarreal in the Champions League in midweek. Ngumoha was one of the only players to stand up and show his quality in the difficult opening 35 minutes of that meeting, while he was rewarded for his quality with two assists that ultimately helped earn a 4-3 win.
While it was perhaps his best performance of the season, as the Liverpool fans chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation on the night, the chance to start in back-to-back games was turned down by Iraola.
In his place, Cody Gakpo and Bradley Barcola started in the wide areas, with the manager explaining the main reasons he had for naming a changed forward line.
"We are changing the team a little bit," Iraola told Sky Sports about his team.
"Every three or four days, we are playing, so I think it's a matter of finding the best match-ups we can find.
"And also, how we are going to finish the game. For sure, we will use Rio in the best way we can, in the second half, and everyone has to be ready."
It's a match that Liverpool will be keen to win, even more so than usual, with Anfield proving a tricky place to win in the Premier League as of late.
It has been six months since the Reds last picked up a league victory at home, with this season seeing the side draw with Nottingham Forest and Fulham, before the defeat to Manchester City last time out.
Brighton is one of the form teams in the division, after an impressive start with five wins from the opening seven games, having found some quality in front of goal in particular.
Iraola's team will be named with full focus on winning the match on the day, but there may also be an eye on other games coming up that will test the team considerably.
On the theme of playing every three or four days, Liverpool will want to overcome an EFL Cup tie with Chelsea in midweek to keep a chance of winning silverware alive, before next weekend's tough challenge against Arsenal in the Premier League.
It remains to be seen whether Iraola will have made the right call with dropping Ngumoha for the Brighton encounter, with Liverpool's form set to be judged over the next week of action.
